Righteousness - A Work Of Faith

To most of us, churchgoers; coming to the church services is one way for us to show that we are active members of such church. However when outside of the church service, do we still keep ourselves active in expressing our faith? Or we simply keep ourselves quiet about it and simply go along with the worldly deeds of our unbeliever peers.

The brother of Jesus, James, reminds us in his epistle that faith must be accompanied with works -- "For just as the body without the spirit is dead, so also faith without works is dead." --James 2:26. There are two separate phrases in this verse which are correlated with each other as the former refers to the church and the latter to its member.

Being member of Christ's church does not start and end in coming and leaving the church service. Membership starts on the day of your salvation, the time you accepted Jesus as your Savior and repented on your sins; and ends in eternity with Jesus. Our physical death will not end our goal for eternity, it is only an end of our physical bodies but it continuous until Jesus has return and judge the world. Therefore, in everything we do, comprehend, think, and feel; it must exhibit our faith which Jesus established in our hearts. The faith that God gave us as a result of His salvation must support the fulfillment of the law of God and not to break it. The church that breaks the law of God does not bear the Spirit of God which he also leaves in us to be our guide and our power to advance all the good works God asked us to perform.

But being a member of the church is not a guarantee of eternity because every person has to work on its own salvation. Church of Christ has already established to bring every soul inside of it. But once you are in, every member needs to exercise the faith that they accepted, a visible faith that is lighted up and is giving light especially in darkness.

The faith does not just believe God and knowing Jesus, it has to be accompanied by works acceptable to God which is righteousness. As a clue in James 2:19 says "You believe that God is one; well and good. Even the demons believe that - and tremble with fear."

God bless everyone!

Be Contented as a Child

When I was looking at the old photographs of my children, it reminds me how beautiful they are when they were still babies and I noticed how quiet and contented they are when I was carrying them in my arms. It is good to be a child, indeed, as you are not aware what things are happening around you. 

Psalms 131:1-3 

1 O Lord, my heart is not proud, nor do I have a haughty look. I do not have great aspirations, or concern myself with things that are beyond me. 

2 Indeed I am composed and quiet, like a young child carried by its mother; I am content like the young child I carry. 

3 O Israel, hope in the Lord now and forevermore! 

The psalmist in Psalms 131 is trying to console himself and not to concern the things that are beyond his. With our limited knowledge and wisdom, we cannot explain and longs for things that cannot reach by human capabilities. There are things that we can only hope for to God that everything we need will be taken care of by Him. Like a mother to His child, God want us to rest in His Hope. 

Though we all on our way to maturity in knowledge, experience, and physical aspects; our attitude toward God's control over our lives must remain like a child. We need to be humble before God and do not boast about ourselves as his child doing everything he required from us to do. Instead, he encouraged us to hope in God about concerns that we cannot understand even to the point of suffering while serving Him. 

God wants to reach us and hold in His arms, and take his rest. Resting before God assures us of peace away from any troubles we are worried about. God wants us to keep ourselves quiet and be a child before Him, that as a child we simply trust our mother as she carries us in her arms. 

There, our contentment allows us to enjoy the moment with her. The next time we come before God, let everyone of us hope to the Lord now and forever to enjoy peace in eternity with Him. 

God bless everyone!!!

Be With God or Completely Useless

There was an event during the days of Jeremiah where God shows a great illustration of how he desire to bound Israel to Him forever, to be His chosen people (read Jeremiah 13:1-11). But in all the efforts of God to restore them, they keep on failing and breaking the heart of God. He was then making a decision to punish them and like the linen belt will be completely useless. God shows us that the linen belt was initially a new one. It is tied to Jeremiah's waist and it looks great, he is happy to wear it and show to everyone how good the belt is. Likewise as the chosen people of God and though we are not new, God declared us as His new creation when reconciled with Him through His Son, Jesus Christ. It says in 2 Cor 5:17, "So then, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; what is old has passed away - look, what is new has come!"

When Christ holds us or wears us in Him, His favors is also with us. He is too happy to showcase us as to world and how blessed we are knowing we are side by side with our God. What a great joy and privilege it is, indeed! But He also warns us that if we were kept away from Him, we are going to be useless. But that's the good thing about it; we are only going to be useless, if and only if, we are placed under the soil for some time and were ruined. This is a kind of warning that we do not want to happen in us, I believe.

God illustrated that getting ourselves away from Him; we'll end up being useless. We don't set our time, talents and treasure to Him anymore. We are too busy in our lives and keep on forgetting a time for prayers, devotions, reading the Bible, and fellowship. We are no longer interested to join the church services, meeting and gatherings and offer some help and assistance through ministries, evangelism and mission. We are so contained to the basic personal needs and gratifying wants, allotting nothing for the Lord; giving offerings and tithes now in compulsion.

All of these actions are becoming regular and seems to be normal, are also the soils that will bury us deep into ruin which later make us to be totally useless. Again in Jeremiah 13:9-10, “This is what the LORD says: ‘In the same way I will ruin the pride of Judah and the great pride of Jerusalem. These wicked people, who refuse to listen to my words, who follow the stubbornness of their hearts and go after other gods to serve and worship them, will be like this belt—completely useless!"

God bless everyone!

Examine Our Ways and Return to God

“Why should any living person complain when punished for his sins? נ(Nun) Let us carefully examine our ways, and let us return to the Lord. Let us lift up our hearts and our hands to God in heaven” - Lamentations 3:39-42.

When staring in a beautifully painted wall, we may get amazed to its outstanding beauty at the first look. But staring to it for some time, we start looking for the defects, a hole, paint patches, dirt, etc. The tendency of human mind is to always try to find out of what makes a perfect imperfect.

It seems that there is no difference in our relationship with our God, we tend to complain on His alleged imperfections to us especially when we feel punished by our committed sin. We assume that God is unfair as if it is Him who caused these pains to us. We are acknowledging our sin against Him, thus we repent, but we do not want to be punished. This is not a true repentance then, it is just admittance.

Though God accepted us wholeheartedly, we still have to bear the consequences of all our actions while still in earth - from past, present and future. Jesus forgives our sin when we confess before him and He breaks the eternal death as a reward for true repentance, however, it is not guarantee that you will have a good life based to what you like or based to human standard. But if we continue to our walk WITH Him, we are guaranteed of contented life through the guidance of His Spirit (Gal 5:22-23).

I encourage everyone to always examine our ways and return to God where we have to ask for His wisdom and guidance. We submit our hearts and long for God's help instead, rather than complaining of our situation that is not according to what we expect. Because changes in our sinful ways is impossible without God's lending hands. He is waiting for you to lift your hands to Him and He is very willing to reach you and renew your heart. For "... if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; what is old has passed away - look, what is new has come!” - 2 Corinthians 5:17. 

God bless everyone!